Senses
by Cajun Quinn
Summary: Also based on the same RPG games. Set in the future. Features the Guild, Gambit and the Beast. More chapters coming eventually.
1. Senses

Senses

(Note: Dr. Henry "Beast" McCoy, Theoren Marceaux and the other Guild members do not belong to me. Marvel can keep the Beast, but I really do wish I could own the Guilds. Ah well. This is a story in the Changing Time Series and is based on visions Emil had regarding Theoren's health. It's told from Theo's point of view and he's been insisiting lately that I write it so, here I am. I hope you enjoy it.) 

***** 

"Given the information you just told me, Theoren, I believe it would be wise for you to take a little trip up here to Westchester so we can run some tests." 

Dr. Henry McCoy's voice was clear as a bell over the phone lines even across the vast distance that separated Westchester, NY from Slidell, LA. Theoren Marceaux, co-third-in-command of the New Orleans Unified Guild of Thieves and Assassins sighed and swallowed hard as he listened into the receiver. He was scared to death of what those tests might prove, and even more scared of becoming a burden to his Guild family. 

"I don' wan' dem to know what's goin' on, Dr. McCoy." Theo said quietly. "Not until we get de test results...Dat's why I'm callin' you from Slidell...Tante Mattie's old fam'ly home...instead of de safehouse in Nawlins." 

"I don't advise you to keep it a secret from all of them, Theo, but I do understand your concern. At the very least, you should inform Gambit of the events and the course of action you're taking." 

"You're right, Dr. McCoy. As always." Theoren sighed again, this time in defeat and acknowledgement. "I'll talk to Remy. An' I'll be dere tomorrow." 

"Very well. I'll be expecting you." 

After Theoren hung up the receiver, he sat staring at it for a very long time before he moved. The only light in the room was cast by two candles on the mantlepiece that he had lit when he arrived. As he sat there, listening to the quiet of the dark night around the small house, he couldn't help but shiver. "I'm scared..." He whispered to the shadows cast by the candles before he got up and blew them up. 

***** 

Two hours later, Theoren was back at the Garden District safehouse that housed the Guilds. Remy LeBeau, their patriarch, had recently come down for a brief vacation away from his duties with the X-Men, and after careful consideration, Theoren decided the best place to find his cousin would be on the balcony on the second floor. It was a beautiful mild evening, and Theoren knew only too well how much Remy liked to enjoy such evenings. 

Sure enough, there was Remy, a powerful mutant with strange red-on-black eyes, standing gracefully at the railing of the balcony, taking in the fresh air without a care in the world. 

"What's on your mind, Theo?"  
  
Remy had sensed his cousin's approach, even though Theoren moved silently. All the thieves had keen senses and could pick up on the whereabouts of their guild-mates without seeing or hearing them. It was just something that had been trained into them from birth. 

Theoren joined Remy at the railing with a sigh. He silently cursed himself for it...he never sighed. Ever. But lately he seemed to be doing a lot more of it, and he hated it. "Can we talk?" 

"Of course." Remy replied, turning his head and looking at the older man. He noticed that Theo was looking a lot older these days, as if he had a lot more to worry him and bring him down. "Guild business, or...?" 

"Sort of. More personal t'ough." Theoren replied. "I'm goin' up to see Dr. McCoy tomorrow...gon' get some tests done..." 

"Theo what's wrong?" Remy asked sharply. There weren't many Guild members left. Those that lived in the safehouse were the only ones, and Remy didn't want anything happening to any of them, least of all Theoren, who was the father-figure now that Jean-Luc and Marius were long gone. 

"I dunno...it might be nothin', y'know? Dat's why I didn' tell any of de others. Why worry 'em all an' have it turn out to be nothin'." 

"Theoren...tell me." Remy ordered quietly. 

"You know how on dat show, CSI, de head guy, what's his name, I can' remember it...you know, de grey haired guy wit' de glasses...how his hearin' goin' on him? Well..." 

"Theo...!" 

"It ain' my hearin', Remy, although part of me wishes maybe it was..." Theoren sighed. "It's my eyes, Rem. I t'ink I'm goin' blind. An' I've never been so scared in my whole life..." 

"I can see why you don' wan' tell dem yet..." Remy commented. "Oh Theoren...do you wan' me to come wit' you? I will y'know..." 

Theoren nodded. "Yeah I know you will. But no, it's okay. Maybe I'll jus' need glasses or somethin', y'know? Den Genard can get me back for all de times I teased him 'bout his..." He tries to laugh and it gets stuck in his throat. Somehow they both know it's not going to be like that. 

"Well, okay. I'll jus' tell de others you wanted to discuss some t'ings in person wit' Professor Xavier. Dat'll keep 'em from worryin' 'bout you too much. An' hey." Remy puts a hand on Theoren's shoulder. "No matter what happens, no matter what de outcome is, we're here for you, don' ever forget dat." 

"T'anks Remy. I really appreciate dis..." 

***** 

Early the next morning, Theoren slipped off to the airport and got on a flight to New York. Within a few hours, he was getting out of a cab outside the gates of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, which was mainly a fancy way of hiding the fact that it housed the mutant outlaws known as the X-Men. To be sure, the building was a school, but the X-Men also lived and trained there. Theoren was met at the door by Dr. McCoy, who Theo had phoned from the airport on his way there. 

Dr. McCoy was a study in contrasts. Codenamed the "Beast" for good reason, he was just that. A big, furry beast of a man with fangs and claws and masses of blue fur covering his body. He was also a brilliant scientist and one of the original members of the X-Men. He was a kind and straightforward doctor, and the members of the Unified Guilds went to him when they needed medical attention because they trusted him and he took care of them. 

"Good morning, Theoren! I'm very glad to see you arrived so speedily. We can begin on the tests immediately, if that is alright with you. That way, I should have the results back by early this afternoon and you can be on your way back home where you belong." 

Theoren sighed and gave the big blue doctor a small smile. "Dat's fine wit' me, I jus' wan' dis over wit'." 

"Understandable, of course." Dr. McCoy said as they walked along. "Professor Xavier isn't home right now, he was called away to Europe on emergency business, but he asked me to tell you that if you need to talk to him, he'd be more than willing to discuss things and help you in any way he can." 

"Remind me to t'ank him for dat later." Theoren said thoughtfully.   
  
Within minutes they reached the lower levels of the school, where the MedLab was housed. Without any more ceremony, Dr. McCoy began testing Theoren's eyes and optic impulses and brainwaves. The testing lasted an hour and by the time they were done, Theoren was exhausted, and Dr. McCoy had all the information he needed. As luck would have it, Theoren's eyes started acting up on him during the testing, which gave Dr. McCoy the perfect opportunity to examine what was happening closely as it happened. 

"Would you prefer to wait in the waiting room while I analyze these tests, or somewhere else?" He asked his patient. 

"I don' care. De waitin' room's fine." Theoren replied. 

"Very well. This shouldn't take long." 

Forty-five minutes later, Dr. McCoy stuck his head out of the MedLab door and looked at Theoren. "Come back in, Theoren." He said. He waited for Theoren to sit before he spoke again. "I don't have the results of the C.A.T. scan yet, but those should be along in another hour or so. I believe they will only confirm what the other tests told me, so I'm going go to ahead and tell you now, without waiting for that test to come back." 

Theoren took a deep breath, bracing himself for the worst. "Okay..." 

"As you suspected yourself, you are going blind, and it is occurring at a rather accelerated rate, I'm sorry to say. There are measures we can take to slow down the process, such as glasses and surgery, but ultimately, those are not preventative or corrective measures. As far as I am able to discern, nothing we can do will prevent you from going blind eventually. Our actions will merely slow the process down." 

Tears welled up in Theoren's brown eyes. "Dis can' be happenin'...I'm a computer specialist! I need my eyes..." 

Dr. McCoy handed the thief a tissue and smiled supportively. "Theoren, tell me something. When you type, do you look at the keyboard?"   
  
"No..." 

"Then why do you need your eyes to work on a computer?" Dr. McCoy was almost maddeningly logical and normally Theoren enjoyed talking with him, but right then it was driving him crazy. 

"To see what I'm puttin' on de screen." He retorted. 

Dr. McCoy shook his head. "All you need to do is sit at the computer and type. Have Emil or one of the other guild members watch the screen and tell you if you make a mistake, so you can correct it." 

Theoren pouted, glared and crossed his arms in frustration. "Ain' de same." He muttered rebelliously. 

"No, it isn't. But the fact of the matter is, Theoren, you are going blind and you need to think of things like this. Nothing is ever going to be the same for you again." 

Theoren sighed. "Oui...I know...so what do we do now?" 

"We begin by setting a date for surgery. I'm going to skip the glasses option immediately because the way your eyes are failing you, from the sides instead of the center, glasses will not help. The surgery will slow the process down, as I said before, and allow you more time to see things before you go completely blind." 

"I ain' ever had surgery for anythin' in my whole life an' I ain' 'bout to start now..." Theo protested. Dr. McCoy sighed tolerently. 

"Theoren, your eyes are deteriorating at a very rapid rate. I can't force you to have the surgery, but please allow me to shed some more light on the situation. Without the surgery, you will be completely without sight in six weeks. However, if you choose to have the surgery, your eyes could last six months to a year, perhaps even longer, if we've gotten to them in time. There is no guarantee with the surgery, but I can guarantee that without it, you'll be totally blind in six weeks. That much I know for certain." 

Theoren took another deep breath and let it out slowly. "How 'bout a week from today?" 

Dr. McCoy checked his calendar and made a note with a blue pen. "Perfect." He said, then looked at Theoren, a soft expression on his furry face. "It will take a lot of time and patience to adjust, my friend. But it will be okay." 

"I hope you're right, Dr. McCoy." 

***** 

Later that night, as Theoren arrived back home in New Orleans, he couldn't help but be amazed at himself. Already he'd noticed his other senses, particularly his senses of hearing, smell and touch, were beginning to be even more heightened as his eyesight deteriorated. He walked up to the safehouse, pausing at the door, with his hand on the knob. Through an open window in the living room, he could hear laughter and happy voices as his family spent some time relaxing together playing one of their favorite pastimes, a fun game they'd learned on television called "Win, Lose or Draw." 

Theoren sighed and opened the door. The other guild members stopped in the fun as they sensed his presence and all heads turned to the living room door. At that exact moment, almost as if on cue, small patches of darkness appeared on either side of Theoren's eyes, cutting off his periferal vision completely, just enough to be noticable. He'd been noticing those patches off and on for a few weeks, but they'd always gone away if he blinked a few times. He tried this, blinking his eyes rapidly for a moment and then gave up, realizing the patches were permanent. He looked at his family, thieves and assassins alike, and saw the confusion in every face except one. Only Remy knew what the problem was. 

"Theo, what's wrong? Why're you blinkin' like dat?" Claude asked his best friend, concern in his voice. 

Theoren sighed again and addressed the group. "Sorry I interrupted your game, mes amis, but I have somethin' to tell you. I don' know what Remy said 'bout where I went today..." 

"He said you went to Westchester to talk to Professor Xavier 'bout somethin'. Is everythin' okay?" Bella Donna asked. Bella Donna Boudreaux was second-in-command of the Unified Guild and former matriarch of the Assassins Guild. It was her job to keep things running smoothly while Remy wasn't present. 

"Well I did go to Westchester, but it wasn' to talk wit' de Professor." Theoren admitted. "I went dere to get Dr. McCoy to run some tests. I didn' tell you b'fore b'cause I didn' wan' worry you in case it was nothin'. But it ain' nothin', I know dat now. I'm goin' back next week for surgery." 

"Theo...what...?" His young cousin and fellow computer specialist Emil Lapin managed to gasp out. Theoren almost couldn't hide a cringe. He knew his news was going to effect Emil very deeply, because in spite of the friction that often resulted when the two spent huge amounts of time together, Emil depended on Theoren and both knew it. 

"Much as I hate to admit it...I'm gettin' old, guys. T'ings don' work quite de way dey used to anymore, it seems." Theoren joked half-heartedly. "Fact is, I'm goin' blind an' it can' be stopped. Dere's a good chance dat by dis time next year I won' be able to see any of you guys. An' y'know, dat scares me more den jus' 'bout anythin' else I've ever faced in my life." 

"What do you need us to do, Theo?" Mercy asked. Mercy LeBeau was a cousin of Theoren and Emil's; she was also Remy's sister-in-law and unofficial mother-figure of the group since Tante Mattie had passed away. 

"Well, you can start by not gettin' creeped out if I start starin' at you all of a sudden." Theo said. "B'cause I'll be damned if I'm gon' let myself forget what any of you look like. Help me figure out how I'm gon' make my other senses stronger so maybe I don' miss my eyes so much. Essentially once my eyesight goes, I'm gon' need you guys to be my eyes. I don' wan' be a helpless invalid, dat's not my nature an' we all know it, but I do admit I'm gon' need a lot of help, especially at first." 

"We can do dat, no problem." Bella Donna spoke for all of them and the rest nodded. 

"Dr. McCoy wants you all to come wit' me next week when I go for de surgery. He wants to talk to all of us 'bout adjustin' an' stuff." Theoren continued. "We got a lot of stuff to figure out, a lot of talkin' to do...an' myself, I got a lot of starin' at t'ings to do. But..." 

"But nothin'. We can get t'rough dis. We can get t'rough anythin'." Mercy said, a determined edge to her voice. "De Lord may be takin' your eyesight from you, but He ain' takin' you from us or us from you, so we'll manage. Period." 

To Be Continued 


	2. Adapt and Overcome

Adapt and Overcome

(NOTE: This is the second part of "Senses", during which Theoren and the rest of the Guild head to Westchester for Theo's surgery. I don't know if there's going to be a third part, or if the gang will decide to let me wrap it up after this one. We'll have to wait and see. They don't belong to me, Marvel gets all the credit, but the story idea is mine.) 

***** 

"You scared, Theo?" Emil asked quietly, without turning around. Following his cousin's announcement that he was going blind and needed surgery, red-haired Emil had gone outside and stood on the back porch. He needed to think, but he didn't object when Theoren had joined him after only a few minutes. 

Theoren leaned on the rail beside his young cousin with a sigh. "Hell yeah I'm scared." He admitted. "More scared dan I've been in my life. Right now, I'm standin' here b'side you an' unless I turn my head an' look directly at you, I can' see you. An' it's terrifyin'..." 

Instinctively, Emil reached up and rested his hand on Theoren's shoulder. "Why didn' you mention to someone b'fore dat you were havin' trouble seein' sometimes?" 

"I didn' wan' worry anyone..." Theo replied, trying to keep his voice light and failing. "An' I t'ought it would go 'way or somethin'." 

"Liar." Emil joked softly. "I b'lieve you didn' wan' worry us, but you knew in your heart it wasn' gon' go 'way." 

"You knew dere was somethin' up too, didn' you." Theoren had to say it. Ever since Tante Mattie had died a few months before, Emil had changed. He had inherited her emphatic powers...only they seemed to be a lot stronger in Emil than they ever were in Mattie...and he had also gained a type of visionary powers to go with the empathy. He could see the future through glimpses in dreams, and often felt the emotion of everyone involved in what he saw. On more than one occasion, the visions and the emotional stress that went with them were enough to put Emil in a coma for days. 

Emil sighed. "Oui. One of de first visions I had was of next week. All of us up in Westchester, you havin' surgery. Lots of fear an' uncertainty. In a sense, I been waitin' for dis for months." 

Theo chuckled even though he didn't feel the least bit like laughing. "You didn' happen to see de outcome, did ya, kiddo?" 

"Nope. Kinda wish I had...but yet den 'gain I'm glad I didn'. Don' like knowin' de outcome b'fore it happens...scared 'nough as it is." 

Tears sprung to Theoren's dark brown eyes as he realized just how much pain Emil was in. "Hey. Look at me." He turned to face his cousin and when Emil tilted his head slightly to look back, Theo reached up and rested his hand under Emil's chin, making eye contact and not letting Emil look away. "You ain' losin' me." 

"I know..." Emil whispered. 

"I can' tell you not to be scared...dat would make me a hypocrite seein' as I'm scared too. But look at it dis way. You've been dependant on me for a long time even if we both don' like admittin' it. When my eyesight goes, it's gon' be your turn to look after me. I'm countin' on you to be my eyes, Red. De others too, but it's mostly gon' be you. You're de only one who knows as much 'bout computers as I do, if not more." Theoren reminded him. 

Emil nodded. "Oui." 

"Okay den. Now let's go inside an' see if de others wan' finish playin' de game. I have a feelin' I'm gon' wan' do a lot of stuff like dat while I still can..." 

***** 

One week later, the eleven members of the Unified Guild of Thieves and Assassins were assembled in the waiting room outside the MedLab at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, where Dr. Henry McCoy had just finished debriefing them regarding the surgery Theoren was about to undergo. The blue-furred doctor was a trusted friend of the guild members, and they had learned very quickly that he wouldn't lie to them or sugarcoat things, and they were grateful for that even if it hurt. 

"...So you see, it's really a very simple and yet very complicated procedure. Are there any questions?" Dr. McCoy finished. 

The guild members looked at each other and then at Dr. McCoy. Mercy voiced the question they all had been thinking for the past week. "We jus' have one right now, Dr. McCoy. What're de chances of dis not workin' an' Theo comin' out of it blind?" 

"As I explained to Theoren last week, there are no guarantees except thatat if he doesn't have de surgery he'll be blind in six weeks. I wish I could tell you there's no chance of him being blinded by the surgery, but I can't. It is a possibility." 

"An' de odds?" Emil asked, his voice shaking ever so slightly. 

"Fifty-fifty." Dr. McCoy replied frankly. "I'm sorry they're not better than that, but those are the best odds I can give you at this juncture. Now, if there are no other questions, Theoren and I have to get ready for surgery." 

Ten pairs of eyes looked at Theoren, each of them mirrored with silent fear and worry. Even the Assassins were worried, which surprised Theoren, because they didn't normally worry much about the thieves. The thought crossed his mind and Bella Donna chuckled ironically in reply, her voice echoing inside his head telepathically. 

_"Yeah we're worried...you guys are de ones wit' de long lives, 'member? Dis kinda t'ing scares us too. Don' like de t'ought of growin' old."___

Theoren smiled understandingly at her and then stood up. "I'll be okay, guys. No matter what happens in dere, it'll be okay. But jus' in case..." Before he followed Dr. McCoy into the MedLab, Theoren did something he'd been doing a lot of in the past week. He looked at each of the other guild members directly in the face and tried to commit what they looked like to his memory so he'd never forget their faces. When he was done, he went into the MedLab, leaving his family in the waiting room. 

***** 

Six hours later, Dr. McCoy came out of the MedLab to find that Gambit, his teammate and patriarch of the Guild, had joined the assembled thieves and assassins. He was glad of that, because Remy seemed to be one of the few people capable of putting the guild members at ease. 

"It's over?" Zoe asked hopefully. 

"Yes it is. Theoren is still sleeping right now, and I do not know if the surgery was a success or not. I want to keep the bandages on his eyes for at least twenty-four hours before removing them, so unfortunately, we're all going to have to wait to see the results. I'm sorry to have to do that to you all, but it can't be helped." 

"Can we go see him? Even t'ough he's sleepin'?" Mercy asked. 

"I don't see why not. Just be quiet, and try not to disturb him. After that, I think you could use some rest as well." 

"I've got rooms ready for you guys," Remy informed them before they filed into the MedLab. "An' Hank'll let us know when he wakes up." 

The Guild formed a silent circle around Theoren's bed in the MedLab. Remy stayed behind with Dr. McCoy, who was impressed with how quiet they were. "They certainly do know how to keep quiet." 

Remy chuckled. "Dey're a group of professional t'ieves an' assassins, Hank. Bein' silent is part of de trainin'." 

After a couple of minutes, the circle broke up and the Guild turned to face Remy and Dr. McCoy. They were all exhausted from worry and stress, and that exhaustion showed plainly on all faces. They needed rest as much as Theoren did. 

"C'mon, I'll show you guys where your rooms are." Remy whispered. "Hank, you'll let us know when Theo wakes up?" 

"Of course." 

As they walked along the hallways, Remy explained the way the school was set up. "It never seems to stop anybody if dey're determined enough," he laughed as he led them down a corridor. "But de Professor's pretty adamant 'bout keepin' guys an' girls separated. Dis is de girls' wing." 

He paused half-way down the corridor and looked at Bella Donna, Mercy and Zoe. "Hope you t'ree don' mind roomin' together. I can' give everyone deir own rooms, an' didn' t'ink it would be fair to anybody if some of you had your own rooms an' some didn', so I eliminated de problem." He opened a door to his left. "Dis is your room. De way I look at it, it's only for a few nights an' you're grown women. You can handle it. Dere's an intercom on de wall. When Hank wants to get ahold of us, he'll do it usin' de intercom." 

"Uhm..." Singer's eyebrows raised above her dark glasses. 

"Duh Singer." Remy shook his head. "You an' Feef get special married-people treatment. Dere's not many married couples 'round here, so we tend to treat dem well. You'll see what I mean in a moment. But first, I wan' get de guys straightened out." 

"Oh now dat's gon' be int'restin'..." Singer giggled. 

"Actually, no it isn'." Remy replied. "Takin' Fifolet out of de equation makes it very easy, as a matter of fact." He led them all down another corridor. "All I needed was two rooms, an' dey're right here, one across from de other. One for Gris-Gris an' Questa, an' one for Emil, Claude an' Genard. Same deal wit' de intercom, guys. Now get some rest." He looked at Fifolet and Singer. "An' you two, come wit' me." 

Remy walked with Fifolet and Singer to another section of rooms. "Now. Dis ain' exactly de honeymoon suite at de Hilton, but somethin' tells me you'll like it better. Jean an' Scott used it b'fore dey moved to Alaska." 

"Oh Remy...we couldn'..." They protested. 

Remy shook his head. "You can an' you will. Jeannie knows all, 'member? If she finds out you didn' use de room when you wer here, she'd never forgive you an' you know it." 

"T'anks Remy." Fifolet said quietly. They felt uncomfortable using the same room used by their friend Jean and her husband, but Remy's argument held weight, so they agreed fairly quickly. 

***** 

A few hours later, Theoren woke up to a very dark world. He didn't understand it at first, and ihe panicked. "Dr. McCoy?!" 

Dr. McCoy walked over to his patient with a smile on his face. "Ah Theoren, you're awake. How do you feel?" 

"Uhm...scared, actually. Why can' I open my eyes?" 

"There are bandages covering them, Theo. I will remove them tomorrow. Until then, we won't know the outcome of the surgery. I want to give your eyes time to heal before removing the bandages. Other than that, how do you feel?" 

Theoren thought for a few minutes. "Little weird...head hurts...an' I'm not sure I like dis...when I go blind...dis is what it's gon' be like...I won' be able to see a t'ing...an' I don' like it..." 

"True, but you have the opportunity at this moment to begin adjusting yourself to the idea of not being able to see." Dr. McCoy explained. 

"Where are de others?" 

"They're up in the rooms Remy arranged for them, resting. I will call for them shortly. They are very concerned about your well-being." 

"Well dey are my fam'ly after all, y'know." Theoren reminded him. "We all kinda pulled together after Tante Mattie died, an' set our diff'rences aside." 

"I am very glad to hear that. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll call your family and get them down here to see you." 

"T'anks." 

The guild members made it from their rooms to the MedLab in less than five minutes. Theoren chuckled at them. "Dat was quick, mes amis." 

"How are you?" Mercy asked. 

"Well I hate dese bandages, an' I'd be doin' better if I knew if dis darkness was permanent or not...but other den dat, I'm okay." Theoren replied candidly. "Gotta admit, I'm scared stiff right 'bout now. Jus' ask Dr. McCoy. When I woke up an' couldn' open my eyes, I panicked. Was only sort of relieved when I realized it was b'cause of de bandages, but now I'm scared 'gain." 

"You're scared dat when he takes dem off, nothin' will be diff'rent. Dat you won' be able to see anythin'." Gris-Gris commented. 

"Bingo." Theoren said. "I hate not knowin'. Jus' wan' take dem off an' get it over wit'." 

"What's it like?" Genard was curious. 

"Dark. Very, very dark. Like bein' in Slidell on a night when dere's no moon or stars an' no lights on in Tante Mattie's old house." 

"Oy vey..." Questa voiced the opinion of everyone present. They all knew from experience how dark that was. And even though they were all creatures of the night and they all felt at home in the dark, the image that went through their minds wasn't a very pleasant one. They all prayed that when Dr. McCoy removed the bandages from Theoren's eyes, he'd be able to see, and wouldn't be consumed with darkness the way he was now. 

***** 

The next afternoon, over twenty-four hours after the surgery, the Guild assembled in the MedLab, where Dr. McCoy was about to remove the bandages from Theoren's eyes. They waited, almost impatiently and more than a little fearfully, as he gently and slowly took the bandages off. It felt to Theo like a huge weight was being lifted off his face and he loved that feeling. But he still bit his lip nervously, his eyes still closed. 

"What is it, Theo?" Emil asked. 

"I'm nervous. An' scared." Theoren admitted. "An' I can feel every single one of you watchin' me an' it's freakin' me out." 

"Okay, here's what we'll do, den." Bella Donna took charge of the situation, because Remy was in the middle of a training session in the Danger Room. "Mercy, you an' Emil stay here wit' Theo for moral support. You guys are de closest to him. De rest of us will go waitin' outside until you call us back in. Dere's no need of all of us bein' here makin' him uncomfortable." 

"T'anks, guys." Theoren said gratefully as the others filed back into the waiting room. 

"Anytime you're ready, Theoren." Dr. McCoy told him once they were in relative peace. Both Mercy and Emil found themselves holding their breath, afraid of what Theoren would say when he opened his eyes. 

Theo nodded. "Okay. Cross your fingers, guys." He said and then opened his eyes. "My God..." His voice was barely above a whisper. 

"What...?" Mercy and Emil asked in unison, voices shaking. 

"I can' see anythin'...I mean I know my eyes are open, but I ain' seein' a single t'ing. No light, no nothin'..." Tears welled up in Theoren's sightless eyes.   
  
Moving almost as one, Mercy and Emil went to him and sat down, one on either side of his bed, putting their arms comfortingly around him. 

"I'm sorry Theoren." Dr. McCoy said. 

Theo sighed through his tears. "You got nothin' to be sorry for, Doc. De risk was always dere, you warned me of dat up front. It jus' wasn' mean to work, dat's all. Could you go tell de others please?" 

"Certainly." 

Two minutes later, the rest of the Guild followed Dr. McCoy back into the MedLab, sorrow and sympathy on their faces. They knew Theoren couldn't see them, but the expressions were there all the same. 

"Theo we're sorry..." Claude said, speaking for everyone present. 

"I know. It's okay." 

"What do we do now...?" Zoe asked. 

"We get me some dark glasses an' adapt." Theoren said firmly. "I'm blind. I ain' dead. Sure, I'm gon' be bumpin' into ev'rythin', an' cursin' when one of you moves somethin' on me, but it ain' de end of de world. It's jus' gon' take some gettin' used to, dat's all."   


  



End file.
